


Together, Even When We're Apart

by demonofabove



Series: Family Adventures [9]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Sweet, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 11:48:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25969183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonofabove/pseuds/demonofabove
Summary: Kaito wants to spend time with Iruka, but Iruka isn't home. Kakashi does his best to take his son's worries away.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Series: Family Adventures [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1681972
Comments: 10
Kudos: 87
Collections: Nine Weeks of Summer 2020





	Together, Even When We're Apart

Kakashi was a little tired. Iruka had to work later than usual, so he had been looking after Kaito on his own; and he had been particularly difficult when it came to bath time, and it had taken a while for him to settle afterwards. But now that he was in bed, Kakashi had some time to himself before Iruka came home; and he was planning on curling up on the lounge and reading a few chapters or so of Icha-Icha.

But first, he decided to make a cup of tea; and as he grabbed a mug from the cupboard, he heard small footsteps approaching from the hallway; and when he turned away from the bench, he found Kaito at the doorway, walking towards him.

"Hey, buddy. What's the matter?" he asked softly, running his fingers through Kaito's hair.

"I want Papa." Kaito answered quietly, as he grabbed hold on to the hem of his father's shirt and gazed up at him.

"Hmn… I'm afraid Papa's at work right now, so you can't see him yet."

A lonely, troubled expression crossed Kaito's face; and Kakashi's heart cracked, witnessing such sadness in his son. There wasn't anything he could do about Iruka not being around; but he wanted to help Kaito somehow, so he quickly bent down to pick him up, and held him to his side, keeping his face level with his.

"But you know what we _can_ do?" he suggested soothingly. "We can go to your bookshelf, and find a book; and then you and I can hop into my bed while I read you a bedtime story. What do you think? Do you like that idea?"

Kaito nodded, and rested his hands atop his dad's chest, clinging to him, as they went to the playroom to choose a book. There was a small selection of fairy tales, learning books, and other stories; and as he looked at them all, Kaito stretched out from Kakashi's arms, trying to reach for the one he wanted.

"Which one are you trying to grab?" Kakashi asked.

"That one." Kaito pointed.

"This one?" Kakashi asked, reaching for a classic fairy tale.

"Nn! The doggie!" Kaito bent down a bit further, and reached and grabbed at the air desperately.

Kakashi saw that he was trying to get the book next to the one he'd gone for; and he picked it up, and read the cover. It was a book called _Who made that sound?_ , and had a picture of a yellow puppy with a sparkly bow instead of a collar, sitting at the front of a barn.

After he grabbed it, Kakashi took Kaito to his room and made his way to Iruka's side of the bed and turned the bedside lamp on. He then pulled back the covers, and climbed in with Kaito, telling him that being on Papa's side would be like Papa was there, too; and once they were settled and comfortable, he began to read.

Kaito quickly became immersed in the tale about a puppy exploring a farm and making friends with all the animals it meets; and the warm hum of his dad's voice, and being in his parents' bed made him very relaxed, and wiped all his worries away. He missed Papa and really wanted to see him; but being in Daddy's lap, snuggled against him, he didn't feel lonely anymore.

As Kakashi continued to read, he noticed that Kaito was no longer reacting to the silly voices or sounds he made for the characters, and no longer tried to turn the pages of the book himself, or point to the animals and name them; and when he looked down, he saw that Kaito's eyes were closed. Kakashi couldn't tell if he was still listening at that point, or had dozed off, so he continued until he got to the end of the book.

When he was done, he looked at Kaito again, and saw that he had definitely fallen asleep, as he was completely limp against him, and his mouth was slightly parted. Kakashi's heart skipped a beat, and his chest filled with affection as he studied Kaito's innocent expression; and he gently brushed his soft, silky hair out of his face.

As he continued the relaxing motion, he became even more comforted by the fact that Iruka's scent was particularly strong on his side of the bed, and felt like a warm blanket draped around him; and as he closed his eyes and imagined it was really Iruka's body pressed against him, holding him close, he too, was lulled to sleep.

While Kakashi and Kaito slept, the Hatake-Umino household became still as the evening carried on; and the only sounds that could be heard was the low hum of the fridge, the ticking of the clock in the living room, and the gentle rustling of trees dancing to the evening breeze.

Then finally, after the minute hand had circled the clock a couple of times over, there was activity in the house - the sound of the front door being unlatched and opened; and in stepped Iruka, welcomed by the warm light at the entrance way.

"I'm home!" He called, as he shut and lock the door behind him.

As he took his shoes off, he listened out for his family; but instead of a reply, or the sound of footsteps of someone coming to meet him at the door, he was greeted with silence.

"Hello?" he called tentatively.

There was still no response, and Iruka became confused. He could sense both Kakashi's and Kaito's chakra signatures, so he knew they were around; but the house was strangely quiet, so what were they doing?

Iruka entered the living room first, and spotted Icha-Icha on the lounge, but no Kakashi; and that was strange, because Kakashi never left his book laying around. Unless… Iruka wandered to the kitchen next. If Kakashi had intended on reading, then he might have gone to make himself a cup of tea first.

Sure enough, he saw evidence that Kakashi had gone to make tea; but the scene was odd, because only the mug was out, and the jug was still cold… So that must have meant Kakashi had been distracted by something… Was he perhaps having trouble putting Kaito to bed?

Iruka followed the hallway to Kaito's room, passing the empty bathroom on the way; and when he reached it, the situation only became more confusing - Kaito wasn't there. So what on earth was he and Kakashi doing? And why was Kaito still awake, when it was clearly past his bedtime?

Iruka left Kaito's room, and stood at the doorway trying to figure out where to check next, when he noticed a dim light in his peripheral vision, further down the hallway, towards his bedroom. Curious, he made his way over, wondering if Kakashi was perhaps getting dressed; and when he got there, his heart melted and he became overwhelmed with love, because there, on his side of the bed was Kakashi and Kaito curled up together, sound asleep.

Iruka adored moments like this, finding Kakashi and Kaito together, both looking so innocent and at peace; and he especially loved seeing how close they were. When he and Kakashi had first gotten together, Kakashi had been particularly shy when it came to expressing affection; but now, his love was clear as day. And the way he had taken care of Kaito, by abandoning his own evening to make sure he was happy, made Iruka fall for him even more.

Iruka quietly went to the bed and kissed Kakashi and Kaito on the forehead, wishing them a good night; and he stepped back to watch over them a little longer, smiling fondly as he put a hand over his vest pocket, and felt the small box inside.

 _Soon_ , he thought to himself.

_Soon we'll take the next step.  
_

**Author's Note:**

> I am a mod of the Kakairu Rocks forum. It's a community for all kakairu lovers aged 13+, and there is all sorts of things to see & do, from perusing member fanworks and other recs, joining in with our weekly headcanon discussions, and participating in fun, exciting events! Please [come and check us out](https://kakairu.rocks/)! We'd love to see you there!


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